Method of securing together pieces of stock



March 5, 1935. F S SHERMAN 1,992,968

METHOD OF SECURING TOGETHER PIECES OF STOCK Filed Aug. 14, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l March 5,l 1935. F. s. SHERMAN 1,992,968

METHOD OF SECURING TOGETHER PIECES OF STOCK Filed Aug. 14, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 am NQW Patented Mar. 5, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE METHD 0F SECURING TOGETHER PIECES 0F STOCK Application August 14, 1933, Serial No. 684,938 26 Claims. (Cl. 12-'142) lasted marginal portions of the shoe uppers, as.

wellas the marginal portions of the attaching surfaces of the soles, are roughened and then coated wtih pyroxylin cement which is allowed to dry and later is activated with a suitable Softwq ener or solvent before a shoe and sole are brought together and placed under sole attaching pressure. This method of attaching soles has become quite popular and many millions of pairs of shoes have been made in this way.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method for use in securing together pieces of leather, fabric or other material. My improved method may be employed, for example, in the cement attachment of soles to shoes, thereby decreasing the labor and cost of the sole attaching processes and providing at the same time a thoroughly reliable sole attachment.

As illustrated herein, the marginal portion of a shoe upper, after the lasting operation and while the shoe remains on the last, is fair-stitched with thread composedv in whole or in part of a readily soluble material, for example a cellulose ester such as cellulose acetate. The thread used for this stitching is subsequently treated vwith a solvent, for example acetone, and is thereby con- Verted into cement. A suitably prepared sole is then positioned on the shoe bottom and pressure is applied and maintained while the cement produced by the action of the solvent on the soluble material of the stitching is setting.

It will be observed that the method of manufacturing shoes outlined above entirely eliminates the roughening of the overlasted marginal portion of the shoe upper which is one of the most troublesome operations in the manufacture of compo shoes in accordance with usual practice. Moreover, it makes it ordinarily unnecessary to apply cement to the outsole. The elimination of these two operations, of course, substantially lessens the cost of manufacturing this type of shoe.

As illustrated herein, the stitching referred to above passes through the upper and into but not through the insole. It should be understood that this is not an essential of my invention in all its aspects. Thread formed of cellulose acetate fibre and available undery the trade-name Celanesef is suitable for use in the practice of my invention7 though other kinds of thread may also be used. If preferred, the thread may also include substantially insoluble bre, such as cotton or linen, as well as the soluble materiahthough such is by no means essential. ,f

vWith the abovev and other objects in view the invention will now be described in connection with the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspectiverview illustrating a shoe in lasted condition and before its outsole has been attached;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the shoe after the overlasted marginal portion of its upper has been'fair-stitched in yaccordance with my in- Vention; vf 4.,.

Fig. v3 is a sectional view on a muchenlarged scale through the fair-stitching of the shoe of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an elevation illustrating the insertion of the fair-stitching in the overlasted marginal portion of the shoe upper and showing parts of the machine by which the fair-stitching is in-l serted; andl i.

. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view through the bottomof a shoe the sole of which hasbeen attached inv accordance with the method of my invention.

In a preferred utilization of my invention in the manufacture of shoes, the shoeuppersand insoles may be assembled and lastedby any of the methods suitable for use in the manufacture of compo shoes.` As illustrated herein an insole' 10 and an upper 12 have been assembled upon a last 14 after which the upper 12 has been worked into lasted relation and secured to the insoleV along thesides ofthe shoe by staplesl (Fig. 1) which are curved through the vsubstance of the insole and anchored therein without passing through tothe inner surface of the insole, as indicatedin Fig. 5. Tov this end the side lasting may advantageously be accomplished with the aidof aside lasting machine of the character disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States No; 1,815,295, granted July 21, 1931.0n an application filed in the name of George Goddu. As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the heel portion of the shoe upper is secured in lasted relation by tacks 18 while the toeportion of the Vshoe has been cement lasted. It should be understood, however, that the details of the lasting have nothing tol do with the present invention and may be varied in accordance with the desires of the shoe manufacturer though it is preferable that the marginal portion of the shoe upper be lasted nat against the insole of the shoe as is usual in the manufacture of such shoes as have their outsoles cement attached directly to their uppers.

After the completionof the lasting operation and the trimming off of any surplus upper stock which may be present, a plurality of rows of stitching, illustrated at 18 in Figs. 2, 3 and 5 as fair-stitching, is inserted. The thread used for this is composed of soluble material adapted, when treated with a suitable solvent, to Vform a cement suitable for sole attaching. For this purpose I prefer to use thread composed of cellulose acetate fibres, either alone or in combination with cotton or linen, though thread composed of bres of other soluble material, for example cellulose nitrate or other cellulose ester or ether', may be used. If a composite thread is used, it may advantageously comprise a core of insoluble material, such as cotton or linen, and an outer layer of cellulose acetate. This fair-stitching preferably passes through the shoe upper and well into but notl through the insole, as illustrated on a much enlarged scale on Fig. 3. It may be in-v serted by a fair-stitching machine of known type,V

for exampleby a machine such as that illustrated in Letters Patent of the United States No. 562,- 335, granted June 16, 1896, on an application led in the name of Edwin F. Mower, the machine preferably being provided with a thread inserting tool of the character more fully disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 584,952, granted June 22, 1897, on another application led in the name of said Mower. Such machine, as illustrated in Fig. 4, is provided with an awl 20 arranged to pierce the work for the reception of the thread and also, by a transverse movement, to feed the work which is presented to a presser foot 22 and a gage 24. The machine is also provided with a thread guide 26 the end portion of which controls the threadV 28 asit passes down toward the work and with a thread inserting tool 30 the end surface of which forces loops of thread down into the holes formed in the work by the awl. For further details of the machine the reader is' referred tosaid Letters Patent of the United States No. 562,335 and to the related Letters Patent No. 563,871, granted July 14, 1896, on still another application of said Mower.

'Preferably this fair-stitching machine is provide'd with a work support comprising a jack terminating invv a .last pin which is received in the thimble hole of the last as illustrated at 32 in Fig. 4. The details of such jack are not illustrated herein as they form no partof the present.

invention. The jack may be, if desired, of' the kind disclosed in Letters Patent of the United- States No. 919,424, granted April 27, 1909, in the name of William H. Cuf.

After the fair-stitching, preferably arranged in a plurality of rows as indicated at 18 in Figs. 2 and 3, has been inserted a suitable solvent or softener is applied thereto. This may be acetone (assuming the use of cellulose acetate or cellulose nitrate thread) or any other solvent which by acting cn the thread will form a. suitable cement, or I may use a solvent which itself includes more or less cellulose acetate or cellulose nitrate, for example as disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,959,320, granted May 15, 1934, on an application filed in the name of Walter H. Wedger, or No. 1,959,321,'granted May 15, 1934,

on an application also led in the name ofy said Wedger. The marginal portion of the outsole 34, which is to be attached to the shoe bottom, is roughened in the usual way and preferably, though not necessarily, the outsole is molded or conformed to the shape of the shoe bottom. The outsole is applied to the shoe bottom before the solvent or softening material has had time to evaporate and the shoe and sole are placed under pressure, for example in a cement sole attaching machine of the kind disclosed in an application for Letters Patent of the United States Serial No. 636,202, led October 4, 1932, in the names of Milton H. Ballard et al.

Under some circumstances it may be preferred to apply a coating of pyroXylin cement to the rroughened marginal portion of the outsole 34 before the sole is applied to the shoe bottom. This, however', is not ordinarily necessary and should be done only when unusual conditions make it worth while. In such cases it is optional with the shoe manufacturer whether this coating of cement on the marginal portion of the sole is aotivated'with softener before the sole is applied to the shoe bottom. If this is done, however, it may, Without departing from the scope of my invention, take the place of the'softener applied to the stitching inserted in the overlasted marginal portion of the shoe bottom.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in methods of securing together pieces of stock which comprises inserting fair-stitching from one side only of one or more layers of stock using a thread composed at least in part of soluble material which upon treatment with a suitable solvent will form cement, treating the fair-stitching with such a solvent thereby forming cement, and pressing the stock which is to be cemented to the fair-stitched stock against said cement.

2. That improvement in methods of securing together pieces of stock which comprises fairstitching one or more layers of stock with thread composed atleast in part of a soluble cellulose derivative, said stitching being inserted from one side only of the stock and not passing completely therethrough, treating the fair-stitching with a solvent for said cellulose derivative thereby forming cement, and pressing the stock which is to be cemented to the fair-stitched stock against said cement.

3. That improvement in methods of securing together pieces of stock which comprises fairstitching one or more layers to stock with a thread composed at leastin part of cellulose acetate, said fair-stitching being inserted from one side only of the stock and not passing completely therethrough, treating the fair-stitching with a solvent for cellulose acetate thereby forming cement, and pressing stock which is to be cemented to the fair-stitched stock against said cement.

4. That improvementV in methods of making shoes which comprises inserting fair-stitching in a part already incorporated in. a shoe without passing through to the inside of the shoe and using a thread composed at least in part of readily soluble material which upon treatment with a suitable solvent will form cement, treating the fair-stitching with such a solvent thereby forming cement, and pressing a part which is to be cemented to the fair-stitched part against said cement.

5L That improvement in, methods of making COy shoes which comprises inserting fair-stitching in a part already incorporated in a shoe using a thread composed at least in part of a soluble cellulose derivative, treatingthe fair-stitching with a solvent for said cellulose derivative thereby forming cement, and pressing a part which is to be cemented to the fair-stitched part against said cement. i

6. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises inserting4 fair-'stitching peripherally of a shoe part with a cellulose ester thread, treating the fair-stitching with a solvent for the cellulose ester and thereby forming cement, and pressing a shoe part which is to be cemented to the fair-stitched partv against said cement.

7. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises inserting fair-stitching peripherally of a shoe part without passing completely through said part using a cellulose acetate thread, treating the fair-stitching with a solvent for cellulose acetate and thereby forming cement, and pressing a shoe part which is to be cemented to the fair-stitched part against said cement.

8. That improvement in methods of manufacturing shoes which comprises stitching the overlasted marginal portion of a shoe bottom with a thread composed at least in part of readily soluble material which upon treatment with a suitable solvent will form cement, treating the stitching with such a solvent thereby forming cement, and pressing a sole on the shoe bottom.

9. That improvement in methods of manufacturing shoes Which comprises fair-stitching the overlasted marginal portion of a shoe bottom with a thread composed at least in part of readily soluble material which upon treatment with a suitable organic solvent will form cement, treating the stitching with such a solvent thereby forming cement, and pressing a sole on the shoe bottom.

10. That improvement in methods of manufacturing shoes which comprises stitching the overlasted marginal portion of a shoe bottom with a thread composed at least in part of cellulose acetate, treating the stitching with a solvent for cellulose acetate thereby forming cement, and pressing a sole on the shoe bottom.

11. That improvement in methods of manufacturing shoes which comprises inserting stitching into the overlasted portion of the upper and the body of the insole of a lasted shoe using thread composed at least in part of readily soluble material which upon treatment with a suitable solvent will form cement, treating the stitching with such a solvent thereby forming cement, and pressing a sole on the shoe bottom.

12. That improvement in methods of manufacturing shoes which comprises inserting several rows of stitching into the overlasted portion of the upper of a lasted shoe using thread composed at least in part of readily soluble material which upon treatment with a suitable solvent will form cement, treating the stitching with such a solvent thereby forming cement, and pressing a sole on the shoe bottom.

13. That improvement in methods of manufacturing shoes which comprises inserting several rows of stitching into the overlasted portionA of the upper and the insole of a lasted shoe using thread composed at least in part of cellulose ester, treating the stitching With a solvent for said cellulose ester thereby forming cement, and pressing a sole on the shoe bottom.

14. That improvement in methods of manufacturing shoes which comprises inserting several rows of stitching in the overlasted marginal portion of a shoe upper andthemarginal portion of4 the insole of alasted Yshoe using athread composed at least in part of cellulose acetate, treating the stitching with a solvent for cellulose acetatethereby forming cement,"applying a solev to the shoe bottom, andmaintaining the sole and shoe under pressure while the cement is setting.

r15. That improvement in methods of manufacturing shoes which comprises inserting several rows of stitching in the overlasted marginal portion of a shoe upper and the marginal portion of the insole of a lasted shoe using a thread composed at least in part of cellulose acetate, treating the stitching With acetone thereby forming cement, applying a sole to the shoe bottom, and maintaining the sole and shoe under pressure While the cement is setting.

16. That improvement in methods of manufacturing shoes whichv comprises inserting several rows of fair-stitching `inthe overlasted marginal portion of the upper of a lasted shoe using thread composed at least in part of a readily soluble material which -upon treatment witha suitable solvent will form cement,.treating the fairstitched shoe bottom with such a solvent thereby forming cement, applying. a sole to the shoe bottom, and maintaining theshoe and sole under pressure whilejthe cement is setting.

17. That improvement in methods of manufacturingshoes which comprises inserting several rows of fair-stitching in the overlasted marginal portion of the upper of a lasted shoe using thread composedat least in part of cellulose ester, treating the fair-stitched` shoe bottom with a solvent for said cellulose Vester thereby Vforming cement, applying a sole to the shoe bottom, and maintaining the shoe and sole under pressure while the cement is setting.

18. That improvement in methods of manufacturing shoes which comprises fair-stitching the overlasted marginal portion of a shoe bottom with a soluble cellulose derivative thread while the shoe is on a last, treating said thread with a solvent for said cellulose derivative thereby forming cement on the shoe bottom, applying a sole to the shoe bottom, and maintaining the shoe and sole under pressure while the cement is setting.

19. That improvement in methods of manufacturing shoes which comprises fair-stitching the overlasted marginal portion of a shoe bottom with cellulose ester thread while the shoe is on a last, treating said thread with a solvent for the cellulose ester thereby forming cement on the shoe bottom, applying a sole to the shoe bottom,

and maintaining the shoe and sole under pressure While the cement is setting.

20. That improvement in methods of manufacturing shoes which comprises fair-stitching the overlasted marginal portion of a shoe bottom with cellulose acetate thread while the shoe is on a last, treating said thread with a solvent for cellulose acetate thereby forming cement on the shoe bottom, applying a sole to the shoe bottom, and maintaining the shoe and sole under pressure while the cement is setting.

21. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises securing a shoe upper in lasted relation to an insole and last, without withdrawing the last fair-stitching the overlasted marginal portion of the upper with thread comprising a soluble cellulose derivative, thereafter treating the cellulose derivative thread with a solvent therefor and thereby forming cement on the shoe bottom, applying a suitablyl prepared sole to the shoe bottom, and maintaining the shoe and sole under pressure while the vcement is setting.

22. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises securing a shoe upper in lasted relation to an insole and last, without withdrawing the last fair-stitching the overlasted marginal portion of the upper with thread comprising a cellulose ester, said fair-stitching extending through the upper but not through the insole, thereafter treating the thread with a solvent for the cellulose ester and thereby forming cement on the shoe bottom, applying a suitably prepared sole to the shoe bottom, and maintaining the shoe and sole under pressure while the cement is setting and thereby cement-attaching the sole.

23. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises securing a shoe upper in lasted relation to an insole and last, without withdrawing the last fair-stitching the overlasted marginal portion of the upper with thread comprising cellulose acetate bres, said fair-stitching extending through the upper and into. but not through the insole, thereafter treating the thread with a solvent for cellulose acetate thereby'forming cement on the shoe bottom, applying a suitably prepared sole to the shoe bottom, and maintaining the shoey and sole under pressure while the cement is setting and thereby cement-attaching the sole.

24. That improvement in methods of manufacturing shoes which comprises inserting a plurality of rows of fair-stitching in the overlasted marginalportion of a shoe upper using thread composed partly of a readily soluble cellulose derivative and partly of substantially insoluble material, treating the fair-stitching with a liquid which has no effect on the substantially insoluble material of the thread but is a good solvent for the cellulose derivative and thereby forming cement, applying a soley to the shoe bottom, and maintaining the shoe and sole under pressure while the cement is setting.

25. That improvement in methods of manufacturing shoes which comprises inserting a plurality of rows of fair-stitchingl in the overlasted marginal portion of the upper but not through the insole of 'a shoe mounted on a last using thread provided vwith an outer layer of a cellulose ester and an inner core of cellulose, treating the fairstitching with a liquid which has no effect on cellulose but is a good solvent for said cellulose ester thereby forming cement, applying a sole to the shoe bottom, and maintaining the shoe and sole under pressure while the cement is setting.

26. That improvement in methods of manufacturing shoes Which comprises inserting a plurality of rows of fair-stitching through the overlasted marginal portion of'the upper and into but not through the insole of a shoe mounted on a last yusing thread provided with an outer layer of cellulose vacetate and an inner core of cellulose fibre, treating thefair-stitching with a liquid which has no elect on cellulose but is a good solvent for cellulose acetate thereby forming cement, applying a sole to the shoe bottom, and maintaining the shoe and sole under pressure While the cement is setting.

FRED S.' SHERMAN. 

